Monthly Archives: June 2011

Griffin has become quite the little mimic lately. We’re starting to really watch what we say for fear it will be repeated in his sweet tiny voice. Here are some highlights:

Careful honey! – Griffin says this to himself whenever he’s in a precarious position or doing something I’ve told him is dangerous. It’s adorable (except for the doing dangerous things part).

‘Scuse me! – He’s gotten in the habit of saying “excuse me” to people when they are in the way of his desired path or if he accidentally steps on someone, but he’s also been saying it to plants, beds, toys, etc., as in, “Scuse me, tulip!”

Come on! – I’m not exactly proud of this one as I know it comes directly from me and my big mouth when I’m frustrated. He even uses the exact intonation and context, like when he’s trying to open a container of play dough and the lid isn’t coming off, out flies, “Come on!!” Ah, well. At least it isn’t “mother-trucker-asphalt.”

Orange sun, Mama! Good morning, Mama/Daddy! – We bought a night light for Griffin a while back that is a moon when he’s supposed to be sleeping/in his room and a sun when it’s ok to get up. It’s worked really well for us, and even the mornings when he opens his door too early and I have to remind him to wait until the orange sun appears and then he can say, “Orange sun, Mama!”, he just says, “Ok. Bye-bye!” It is just about the sweetest thing in the world to hear him exclaim in his little voice “ORANGE SUN, MAMA! GOOD MORNING!” from behind his bedroom door. He is just so happy and excited, it’s hard not to start the day with a smile.

We’ve had a wet, cool spring here in Minnesota, so the arrival of summer has come like a flash! All of a sudden, the trees are full with foliage, gardens are exploding with all the colors of the rainbow, the sun is shining, and the outdoor festival season has begun. One of the things I really love about the Twin Cities is the Season of Celebration, otherwise known as summer. There is no shortage of celebrating the warmth and extended daylight with music, art, theater of all kinds, restaurants spilling out onto the sidewalks, and plenty of places to play, play, play.

Griffin and I enjoyed our first festival today, the Flint Hills International Children’s Festival in downtown St. Paul, and it really felt like a true kickoff to summer! We started our visit with a theater performance at the Ordway called Corbian the Dinosaur (check out the link! It’s really cool!) It was billed as a “glow in the dark adventure,” and it seemed right up his alley. This was Griffin’s first professional theater experience, though, so I wasn’t sure how long he’d last. But to start off, he was fascinated by the theater with its gold railings, velvety seats, and lights along the aisles! I chose seats close to an exit just in case we needed to make a quick escape, but as soon as the lights dimmed, he settled into my lap and watched. the. show. for. an. HOUR! I couldn’t believe it. He was entranced by the glowing figures, loved to clap with the audience, and yelled out, “ALL DONE!” whenever a scene would end (we’ll work on theater etiquette at some point!). A smashing success!

Next we headed out across the street to Rice Park where there were vendors, free art projects, and shady spots to watch people dancing on the side of a building. Seriously. These acrobatic building dancers called Project Bandaloop were AMAZING. Actually, I thought they were incredible and mesmerizing while Griffin was all into the bronze Peanuts sculpture of Lucy reading a book that we were sitting next to. Ah, to each his own.

The icing on the cake was nearly an hour spent in a public fountain seemingly made for water loving kids (and Griffin is most definitely a water loving kid who sometimes asks for a bath 3 or 4 times a day). Hamm Plaza was transformed into Discovery Garden (check out this time lapse video of it being made), which really should have been called Joyful Garden. I wish I had brought our good camera, but here are some shots from my phone of Griffin in the midst of pure summer bliss:

Griffin plunks himself down in the fountain!Kids were lining up to stand in front of the little waterfall.Beautiful art that begs to be played in is the best!

We were lucky enough to be on the last stop of the Grummy 2011 Grandchild Tour a few weeks ago, when Andrew’s mom, Sandy, stayed with us for a week! Between all the moving that’s been going on in our lives in the past year and settling into our new home, we hadn’t seen her since last spring, so a visit was long overdue. She wanted to see our new digs and spend some quality time with Griffin, so we got to host her here in Minnesota! Griffin was quite excited that Grummy, who normally appears on our computer screen, would be staying with us. He was quick to tell her all his new words, sit on her lap for some reading, and show her around the house. Every morning he excitedly woke up saying, “Grummy? Grummy?” and would rush down the stairs saying, “Hi, Grummy! Hi, Grummy!”

One of our destinations while she visited was the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. This is a favorite for us, as well as a great spot for taking photos. This time, once again, did not disappoint!

We also took Grummy to the Children’s Museum, on a tour of Minneapolis lakes, to the Roseville Library, on a tour of Andrew’s school, and to the Mall of America! Overall, it was a great visit for everyone and we loved having a chance to hang out with Sandy. Griffin asked for Grummy in the morning for almost a week after she went home, and he’s still calling string cheese (which was a snack unique to Grummy in Griffin’s world) “Grummy cheese.”